Seizing the throne, abolishing the adopted son, the imperial concubine rose to prominence

"I had originally wanted to ask the Empress to have the Imperial Service Bureau send some good charcoal, but before I could even open my mouth, Li Shanggong came in to report on palace matters, so I had no choice but to withdraw."

"Fortunately, we servants still have some remaining charcoal in our rooms. Although it's not as good as what the master has in his room, it can at least last for a few days."

Coral Road.

"No, it's so cold, and your room is facing north. If you don't have a charcoal fire, how can you sleep at night?"

"I'm fine here. My family was in financial difficulty a few years ago, and I could still get by without charcoal. I'm afraid you can't bear it."

Lin Yunv was anxious to get up and accidentally stretched her injured hands and feet, her face turning pale.

"Master, take care."

Shanhu hurried forward to help the person, tears in her eyes. No matter how kind the master in this palace was, he would not be like her master, who valued the palace servants more than himself, and was afraid that they could not stand the cold, so she was willing to endure the cold herself.

"I heard from the imperial physician that this injury will be more difficult to heal in cold weather and it is easy to leave a root of the disease. If you catch a cold, it will be even worse."

"Master, don't worry. The three of us will sleep together. If we cover ourselves with more blankets, we won't be cold."

"Master, please do not retreat."

After Coral finished speaking, she knelt down and couldn't get up.

"You... well, never mind. Just do as you say. Hurry up and get up carefully."

Lin Yunv sighed in embarrassment.

"Thank you, Master."

Coral stood up happily.

"Master, don't be anxious."

"If the Empress could find out that the Master was murdered that day, then those villains in the Imperial Palace Bureau and the Ministry of Internal Affairs would definitely not dare to humiliate the Master like this again, and the Master would not have to suffer like this anymore."

"Perhaps if I gain the favor of the Emperor and Empress, I can even be promoted."

"When the master recovers and gives birth to an heir, even someone like Concubine Wen will have to bow before the master."

Coral deliberately used many words to comfort her.

Lin Yu-nu listened with a smile at the first few sentences, but when Shanhu mentioned the royal heir, her eyes fell quietly on the incense burner beside the bed.

"Don't worry, I will definitely hold on."

Lin Yunu smiled sadly but firmly.

……

"Where's the fourth girl?"

Gu Youning returned to Changchun Palace and saw that the door of the side hall was closed, so he asked Xiao Shengzi a question.

"My Lord, someone just came from Ci'an Palace and asked the fourth young lady to play the zither for the Empress Dowager."

Xiao Shengzi replied cautiously. After what happened last night, everyone in Changchun Palace knew that their master and Miss Gu Si's sisters were not on good terms.

But Gu Youning just nodded casually and asked again, "Is anyone going with you?"

"The two maids assigned by the Empress went with her."

"Well, the maids sent by the Empress must be suitable."

When they reached the inner hall, Gu Youning instructed Tan Yin, "Take He'er and search the side hall carefully. Bring back any suspicious items and have Yuan Cai take a look."

"Also, tell Xianyu not to allow Gu Youxin to approach the rear hall or the Crown Prince."

"Do you think the Fourth Young Lady will harm you or the First Prince?"

Tan Yin's face was horrified.

"in case."

Gu Youning was not sure.

However, Gu Youxin is not a very patient person, and her brain is not as good as her mother's. She is very easy to be provoked. Now that the queen and the imperial concubine have bad intentions towards her, it is right to be more cautious.

"Master, in fact, Lady Wen's efforts to win over the emperor today were quite good. I have observed these days that although the emperor indulges Lady Wen, she does not usually go to Jifang Pavilion. Moreover, when others are jealous of the master's favor, Lady Wen does not care."

"It's clear that her heart is no longer in the emperor's favor. Moreover, He Cairen was originally the person the master wanted to deal with. The master and she can be said to have ended up in the same place."

There was a hint of urgency in Tan Yin's voice.

Changchun Palace now enjoys some imperial favor, but the masters' situation is not good. Compared with those noble ladies from aristocratic families, they have too few people in the palace.

Always relying on Lan Sizhen is probably not a long-term solution, and if something happens to one of them, the other will easily be implicated.

Just like the incident of the Pine and Crane Longevity Hairpin being damaged yesterday, if anyone knew that Changchun Palace and Lan Sizhen were in frequent contact, then the master would be suspected of framing He Cairen.

"I wasn't going to refuse."

Gu Youning said.

"On the one hand, Lady Wen is too arrogant and impulsive. If I use the Wen family's manpower, I must find a way to protect her."

"Secondly, I want to use Gu Youxin to find out more about the Wen family."

Gu Youning remembered that in his previous life, when the emperor purged and suppressed the power of the aristocratic families, the Wen family was the only one that escaped unscathed.

When Xiao Yun'an ascended the throne, although the Wen family no longer had the glory of the past, the direct descendants of the Wen family still had a place in the court.

When Xiao Heng was the crown prince, he had already thought about weakening the aristocratic families. The only way the Wen family could survive was that they had already defected to the emperor.

However, Gu Youning also remembered that the eldest branch of the Wen family was expelled from the family tree during Xiao Heng's reign.

Today, Gu Youxin had just entered the palace, but she was able to get in touch with the people around Concubine Wen. Her status as a branch of the Wen family, her biological mother's, was probably not enough.

And the Queen...

Therefore, the Wen family's connections in the palace should be secretly divided into two factions. One faction is loyal to the current head of the Wen family, and the other faction is probably still in the hands of the Wen family's eldest wife.

She told this to Lady Wen because she wanted to know the strength of each faction.

Although this method is a bit risky, it is better than her blindly accepting the Wen family's connections.

……

Gu Youxin did not return to Changchun Palace until after lunch.

"You all should be careful. This is a gift from the Queen Mother. It will be disastrous if it is damaged."

Gu Youning was teaching his son in the inner hall when Gu Youxin's particularly proud voice sounded outside.

A moment later, Gu Youxin came in from outside the palace with a smug smile on her face: "Greetings, sister. Is the eldest prince here too?"

"You're back?"

Gu Youning asked calmly, while Xiao Yunzheng didn't even raise his head, just focused on reading the book in his hand.

"Originally, I didn't want to worry my sister, so I wanted to come back earlier, but the Queen Mother couldn't bear to let me go and insisted on having me stay for dinner. I hope my sister won't blame me."

Gu Youxin said with a smile.

"It's a good thing that the Queen Mother likes you. I'm so happy."

"Master, someone is coming from Cheng'an Palace."

As soon as Gu Youning finished speaking, Xiao Shengzi reported from outside.

"Let people in."

"Zheng'er, take care of it first. Mother will go outside for a while."

Seeing her son's frown, Gu Youning softly soothed him, "Okay, mother knows."

Seeing the mother and son playing guessing games as if no one was around, Gu Youxin's eyes darkened. Thinking of the news he had just heard from Jinqin, he couldn't help but clench the handkerchief in his hand.

"What's wrong with my sister?"

"No! The Imperial Concubine is of noble status, and the people around her cannot be offended. Let's get out quickly."

Gu Youning glanced at the panic on his younger sister's face.

"My servant Caifu greets Concubine Gu."

"Miss Caifu, come here, but the Imperial Concubine has instructions."

Gu Youning looked at the palace maid below who had a relatively respectful expression.

"Your Highness the Imperial Concubine slept uneasily last night. She wanted to take a nap after lunch, but she felt a tightness in her chest."

"The fourth young lady's zither skills are amazing and can calm people's minds. Your Majesty would like to invite the fourth young lady to play a piece for her."

"The Holy Emperor is also in Cheng'an Palace right now."

Caifu looked up at the person sitting above her.